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PAC News

2008 Columbia Symposium

The 2008 Columbia Symposium was a great success, with around 350 people in attendance. Keynote speaker was Dr. Abraham Lieberman, Director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Lieberman educated participants on the different classes of drugs in Parkinson’s disease and how they are used. He also explained the physiological basis of physical therapy in Parkinson’s disease and gave participants very practical tips for exercise to improve posture, balance, and strength.

Melody Morehouse, PT, MHA, DHA, manager of Palmetto Home Care in Columbia, followed up with a presentation on the categories of exercises that can benefit people with Parkinson’s disease. She gave participants strategies and tools for coping with activities of daily living, particularly for coping with “gait freeze”.

Debbie Clark, MSW, co-founder of Caring for Caregivers in Columbia, helped caregivers understand the emotional roller coaster of caregiving and equipped them with strategies for managing the roller coaster for the long haul.

DVD’s of this event may be purchased by calling (803) 261-0870 or emailing bemo@sc.rr.com.

 

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Why your advocacy is needed:

  • Every nine minutes an individual is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

  • There are 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's Disease a year.

  • One million individuals have lost enough dopamine cells to develop Parkinson's symptoms.

  • Medication can substitute for the missing dopamine, but it is only a temporary solution.

  • The total cost to the United States is estimated to exceed $6 billion annually.

  • Without more federal funding for research to find a cure for Parkinson's, numbers will only increase each year.

Our congressmen want to hear from you. It is important that you tell them why a cure is needed in your lifetime.

So what can you do? Be an Advocate. For more information on how to be an advocate call Martha Fowler at 704.248.3714.
 
 
 
     
 
©Parkinson Association of the Carolinas, 2008.